More User Reviews:

I this this along with the Double Black Stout are the best from RedHook,this pours a deep brown almost black with a pretty creamy head,the aroma is not real strong a little muted,some bitter chocolate notes along with some woodiness.The taste is earthy and somewhat nutty with a light dryness,pretty tasty.Pretty drinkable for the style,could be a little fuller in aroma but not bad. (383 characters)

Appearance  Nice, foamy head that went down quickly. The beer itself is black as night.

Smell  Chocolate dominates this porter. The coffee is there along with some sweetness, but mostly the Hersheys aroma fills the nose.

Taste  The chocolate gives way to some cheap coffee. Thats a disappointment, because this one smelled like it had potential. But the watered down office coffee tastes like day-old swill. Otherwise, whats left from the chocolaty nose is quite good.

Mouthfeel  Medium-bodied at best. It feels like they compromised on the brewing of this offering.

Drinkability  This one is going into my enchiladas burrachas.

Update  I thought Id re-review this with a 2005 bottle since I havent had it since September 2003. I pretty much found the same thing, except that the nose was a little less inviting. A drinkable porter, but not a very good one. (894 characters)

Taste: Crisp and moderately bodied, smooth and dry roasted, some coffee some chocolate, flavours with a sharp hop bite to match, then following into some sweetness, chewy malt and a more rounded roasted flavour. In the end is some tasty hop leaf, light coffee and chocolate undertones and caramelized sugar. Some earth flavours in this beer also.

Notes: This is one beautiful porter, great blend of flavours to make for a very drinkable ale. It has been brewed longer than you think, since 1983! (733 characters)

This was a dark brown beer with a coffee-colored head that quickly dissipated. Aroma was fairly nondescript: a little roasted grain/malt, not much else. Good porter taste, coffee, chocolate, and molasses. A little thin in the mouth, but still a nice beer and a good representation of a porter. (293 characters)

Poured out a dark and rootbeery deep brown/black. There was a quick rising head that quickly reduced down to a tiny amount with mainly just a khaki ring around the edge a cloud in the center of the stubby pilsner glass. -Can't see through it. God, great aroma- could smell it while pouring, the scents just shot over to me! But for all that I could smell, the taste was not as intense as I was hoping for. Alot of carbination, bit of a disappointment there, too much for my tastes, felt like I was drinking a soda. Passed to a friend to try, asked what he thought about the carb, he said that he drinks soda through the day and that it was just fine for a soda-like carbination... Tastes of burnt toast and black coffee. Funny side note- A friends father who had swung by the bar happened to grab the bottle to try what was unpoured, grabbed a swig and said that it tasted as though it had gone flat. I found that odd since I was so put off by the high carb. I tried the bottle and noticed that when you drink from the bottle, you really do get a whole diffrerent mouthfeel... (1,076 characters)

Appearance: Deeply intriguing dark brown colour, at first glance I thought it was black. A healthy brimming tan head has no problem sticking to the glass.

Smell: Faint coffee / chocolate mix, almost nutty, aroma.

Taste & Mouthfeel: Crisp moderate body, perfect level of carbonation not to tamper with the smoothness. A touch of burnt malt with a nearly mocha flavour to boot. Nice balance with the hops as not to get in the way too much. The lingering roasted flavours mingle with some malt sweetness in the finish.

Notes: One of the most drinkable porters in the US, give me some grilled meat or switch this beer up with some chocolates or as a session beer, Ill take it either way. (768 characters)

Minimal head and lacing. Nice coffee-like aroma. Dark brown to nearly black in color with a nice roasty chocolate flavor. Not as good as the Sierra Nevada Porter, but an excellent buy for a couple of dollars less than the SN. (228 characters)

Appearance is a murky dark brown with a tan frothy tan head. Aroma is faint but I detect dark bitter chocolate and some smoke. Taste is much the same as the aroma with restrained hop flavor but moderate hop bitterness, interesting. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. This is a decent American porter but it could use a bit more hop flavor and the mouthfeel was a bit thin. Overall a decent beer. (401 characters)

Dark brown color, with ruby highlights. Low, light brown head that disappears too quickly. Aroma of toasted malt and caramel, and a faint bit of hops. Flavor is of roasted malt and bitter coffee, plus highlights of cocoa and caramel. No aftertaste whatsoever. Mouthfeel is a bit watery, carbonation is very light. Not the perfect pint, but a very tasty, very drinkable porter. (376 characters)

Pours a coca-cola hue with a nice chocolate-tan head, that quicly dissiaptes. Smells promising - coffee bitterness, sweet chocolate, and some bready yeasts. Somewhat muted though. taste is faithful to the nose. Very satisfying porter, if a bit watery and mild. Definitely a nice 'every day' beer. Wish I could get them around these parts. (338 characters)

This Porter starts out subtly chocolatey and finishes with just a touch of pleasant hop tang...I like the finish more than the initial taste...nice color, actually a little darker than other Porters that I prefer on taste...Blackhook has always been a consistent good choice to me, but not a "must-have" Porter... (313 characters)

Agian, like the IPA, there wasn't a whole lot going on. Grainy malts once again, with a slightly roasted finish, a bit thin and boring, no length on the finish. Remeinded me of the IPA, with a slight hint of roasted malt and obviously darker in colour, pretty tame porter. (Cask- GBBF 03') (289 characters)

Serving was 12oz long neck,pour was a very dark brown with nice lace that sticks to the glass.
Taste is a wonderful malt and dark strong coffee with carmel and slight dark chocolate backround.
This porter had a thick but very pleasant mouth feel.
A really nice find in a little convienence store in North Carolina, I just wish I had picked up a few more 6 packs of this outstanding porter. (392 characters)

Appearance: Dark, dark brown just short of black. Nice tan head with decent retention and lace.
Smell: Very low-level earthty, malty nose.
Taste: I was immediately hit by a lacto-like acidity, followed by a musty, old/stale ale malt background and semi-dry hop finish.
Mouthfeel: Very low carbonation feel, thin, slightly watery.
Drinkability: As graded, a very average porter. Many others are better and I'll be having one of those next time. (447 characters)

Pours a nice dark ruby and holds a good sized, slowly receding tan head. Has a slightly burnt roasty smell and taste and is lighter bodied than other Porters I've sampled although those were of the Baltic style. Not much carbonation. Finished smooth and proved to be, for me, a nice dinner beer that doesn't take over the meal. (327 characters)

This pours a dark brown with a smallish white head.The smell is very faint and I could make out only a small roated malt aroma.The taste has a roasted malt flavor and a little bit of coffee,but it's nothing great by all means.The m/f is too light for this type of beer,but it is pretty well balanced.This is pretty much an average porter,nothing special,nothing great.I wouldn't turn one down,but I wouldn't go out of my way to get one either. (443 characters)

Appearance: Darker than I'd anticipated, and though there's some scant blankets of lacing, there's not much of a head that forms after the initial is to the dust. A very dark amber in the right light but black upon the pour.

Smell: A bit of sweetness and dark, roasted malts, though distinguishing's slightly hard to tell. It's balanced well enough, but it's hard to discern certain aromas.

Taste: The roasted flavor comes out, with some dark coffee edges, and burnt chocolate, though a lot of it's too subtle--maybe a bit too watery and not letting the flavors develop. Not too bad but could be better. Finish hits with some citrus twang on the tongue, though it could be longer also.

Mouthfeel: Fairly smooth though a bit watery and thin, as I said probably affects the taste too. The last burst of carbonation is all over the place and could be contained a bit more.

Drinkability: Not a porter I'd sit down and love to enjoy all the time, but this isn't too bad. I like mine with more vigor, however, though if you're looking for an easy drinking porter this winter season, this isn't a bad one to choose in my opinion. (1,174 characters)